The Bee Network just keeps getting bigger with a new fleet of eco-buses having now rolled out in Oldham and Rochdale as Greater Manchester continues to integrate its new transport network.
With many city centre buses having been franchised across the likes of Wigan and Bolton since the Bee Network officially launched back in September 2023, the new centralised public transport system is becoming a real hive of activity (pardon the pun).
Now making up approximately more than half of the region’s wider bus network, with more bright yellow buses put into service across the likes of Bury and Salford as well, the vision for the Bee Network is slowly starting to take shape.
Celebrating this latest phase in the long-term plan for a universal and centralised public transport network across all ten boroughs, Mayor Andy Burnham hopped on board one of the new vehicles to show off the improvements made to bus journeys here in Greater Manchester.
If you live in Oldham, Rochdale or parts of Bury or Salford, the #BeeNetwork has landed!@AndyBurnhamGM is here to tell you more…
The Bee Network has finally arrived in Oldham and Rochdale with more boroughs soon to follow.
As you can see, not only are the new Bee Network buses an obvious upgrade on many existing lines running in and around the city centre for the past two decades, but there are more of them on more key routes, including 50 new zero-emission vehicles and 84 new, best-in-class low emission buses too.
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Reducing costs for the likes of those travelling in and out of Oldham, Rochdale, Bury and Salford is also a massive win since these routes have come under local control too, with the combined tram and bus tickets – making most journeys 20% cheaper, to be more precise.
As per the latest stats from Transport for Greater Manchester, the Bee Network is already proving to be offering more reliable service than prior to franchising, with 74.30% of buses on time between 1 January and 19 March compared to 67.62% of commercial services and 62.75% during the same period in 2023.
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The number of people using Bee Network services has also increased, with the average number of weekday passengers having grown by over five per cent and hitting a high of 141,720 on 6 March across more than 17 million journeys since it began. The results are plain to see and they’re stopping there.
The goal is to have all of Greater Manchester‘s buses fold into the Bee Network by January 2025 and whilst we’re still in the early days of this centralised shift, it’s great to see such progress being made so far and how it’s already benefiting locals around the region.
This latest chapter comes just a week or so after the brand-new Stockport Interchange was officially opened to the public as well, a borough which is also hoping to see more buses and potential plans for an extension of the Metrolink tram system coming their way.
Featured Images — Bee Network/Michael Ely (via Geograph)
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Appeal launched to find the owner of live chickens found at Creamfields festival
Daisy Jackson
The hunt is on to find the owner of a pair of chickens who were discovered at Creamfields festival.
The two birds were spotted on the grounds of the huge electronic music festival by bewildered festival-goers.
The cockerel and hen were trapped in a hedge, after it appears they wandered onto the festival campsite before the security barriers were installed.
The birds then found themselves trapped inside as around 70,000 music fans poured into Cheshire for a line-up that included Calvin Harris, Swedish House Mafia, Disclosure, and Tiësto.
The chickens have been safely rescued from the Creamfields festival site and are recovering at a wildlife centre, and now the RSPCA is on a mission to find their owner.
Festival-goers first called the RSPCA on Saturday 29 August to alert them to the cockerel and hen trapped inside the festival, one of whom assisted in the rescue mission.
RSPCA Inspector Leanne Cooper: “I was surprised that they were inside the festival site and I needed to get through the road blocks and security before reaching them on foot through muddy fields. I met the caller who helped me as they were just running up and down the hedge line where there was a wire fence blocking access.
Where the chickens were discovered at CreamfieldsThe RSPCA wants to track their owners down
“We managed to guide them out and I caught both of them with my rescue net which was a bit of a sight for the festival campers.
“I don’t think they were abandoned and they’re more likely to be stray because it’s farmland all around the festival site. They don’t have any health issues, apart from being quite underweight.
“With the fences going up a week before the festival starts they’d probably been unable to get out for some time and had been left foraging in the hedge. Someone mentioned that a third bird was also trapped, although we couldn’t find any others.
“I am really grateful to the festival-goer who found them and alerted us to their plight.”
Manchester Airport issues update for anyone flying today after hundreds of cancellations yesterday
Emily Sergeant
Manchester Airport has issued an update for anyone catching a flight today after hundreds of cancellations yesterday.
In case you hadn’t heard, hundreds of flights at several major UK airports – including Manchester Airport – were disrupted by a technical fault at air traffic control provider National Air Traffic Services (NATS) yesterday (8 September 2026), with the incident grounding planes and resulting in numerous cancellations.
According to Flightradar24, more than 1,000 flights were cancelled nationwide, and many passengers were told to expect disruption for the rest of the day.
One of the worst-affected airlines was said to be Ryanair, with around 65,000 passengers affected by the cancellations and delays.
Manchester Airport issued its first statement addressing the matter at 3:15pm yesterday, stating: “We are aware of an issue affecting NATS’ air traffic control service at UK airports, which may result in delays to some departing flights from Manchester Airport today.
“Passengers due to travel are advised to check the latest status of their flight with their airline. We will continue to monitor the situation and share further updates as more information becomes available.”
Now, although the issue has been resolved, Manchester Airport has issued further statements informing anyone travelling today what they can expect.
The airport started off by saying that it is ‘operating as normal’ today, but that passengers are advised to ‘check with their airline for the latest information’.
Danny Jones -
25th March 2024 
